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Furscape MUCK

General Rules for Players and Wizards

4 March 2001

Page Contents

Authorities

All users of Furscape MUCK shall comply with general policy as set by muck owners: Tony Belding (Zobeid) and N. O. DeReus (Karinne), hereafter referred to as "headwizards".

Muck administrators (i.e. wizards) may prescribe disciplinary actions for players who violate these policies. Players may appeal rulings to the headwizards. In all matters of muck rules and policy, the headwizards have final authority, with a majority vote of headwizards used to decide matters of dispute. In the event of a tie vote, another W4 or W3 wizard may be called upon to break the tie.

Appointment of Staffers

Furscape is staffed on a volunteer basis. Staffers may, on their own initiative, appoint other staffers to positions lower than their own. For example, the head of RPstaff may appoint RPstaffers, W2 wizards may appoint W (MAGE) staffers, and W3 or W4 wizards may appoint W2 wizards. However, all staff positions are subject to review by the headwizards. A staff position represents a special privilege and an extension of trust, and is maintained upon the good will of all headwizards. A headwizard may remove a wizard or other staffer from the staff, although courtesy should compel a discussion with the other headwizards if circumstances allow.

All staffers who have duties on the MUCK, or who have access at the W (MAGE) level or higher must be listed on an appropriate public staff command (i.e. wizards, helpstaff, rpstaff). Staffers are encouraged, but not required, to include a valid e-mail address in their publicly readable CINFO information.

Reporting Rule Violations

If you need to report a rule violation, it is best to contact a headwizard. This is especially true if the offender or one of the parties of a dispute is a staff member. When you file a complaint, somebody should investigate, and at some point -- within several days -- you should be contacted again and told what has come of it. If you do not hear anything, you may wish to ask a headwizard about it.

Investigations should be conducted by a wizard not involved in the incident or dispute. In the case of a dispute between players, an effort should be made to interview both parties, and the command logs may be consulted to settle questions of fact.

Punishments

Wizards have a number of tools at their disposal for responding to rule violations, including:

  • Issue a Warning
  • Immediate Disconnect of a Player from the MUCK (@boot)
  • Removal of Access Flags or Other Privileges
  • Jailing of Characters (@jail)
  • Denial of Access to Characters (@newpassword)
  • Removal of Characters from the Database (@frob)

In the case of a punitive @frob (i.e. @toad, @soul), all the headwizards should be aware of the circumstances and have an opportunity to raise objections before it is carried out.

If your character has been removed from the database, you may contact a headwizard and request that a text archive (@archive) of your character and possessions be e-mailed to you.

Removal of a Character

Players may request that their character be removed from the database. This request is not normally carried out right away. Standard procedure is for the wizard to make an @wizlog note recording the request, then wait at least 24 hours. Then the player may repeat the request and confirm that he really does want to be removed.

When changing to a new character, it is much preferred to simply rename and re-describe the existing character rather than delete it and create a new one from scratch. This is less work for the wizards and has less chance of losing objects.

Players who have chosen to delete a character should figure out where they want the character's possessions to go. If you have public areas that you would like to remain on the MUCK after your character is gone, you should work with a wizard to consign ownership of those areas to the MUCK. You may also want to give objects to other players or make your own archives (using the @archive command) before your character is removed. The time to think of these things is before deletion, not afterwards.

At the time of your character's deletion, the wizard who carries it out can destroy (@purge) all your remaining possesions, or can give them all to another player. You should make your preference clear.

Players who have not logged onto the MUCK for one year are subject to being idle-purged. Players are notified of the impending purge by e-mail. If the e-mail bounces, or if the player fails to respond within a week, the character may be purged. In this event, the wizard performing the purge may dispose of the player's possessions by his own judgement, usually by deleting them or by consigning them to Furscape.

MUF and MPI Programming

A class of specially privileged user exists below the staff level. These are persons who have received flags allowing them to program using MUF. Any player may request these flags, but granting them is entirely at the discretion of the staff. These persons have no specific duties in operating the MUCK, but are expected to use their MUF coding only in a constructive way and not abuse it.

MUF programming flags are granted by MUF wizards who have been authorized to care for the MUCK's program environment. These wizards are expected to give MUF flags based on both technical ability and trust of the applicant not to abuse it. Wizards are never required to give MUF flags, but should record their reasons when denying a request. (Wizards are also reminded to check @wizlog notes on the player, and to make a note when they change a player's access level, as well as when they deny requests.) The access levels are:

M1 -- Any player may ask for an M1 flag which allows MUF programming at the most basic level, with restrictions similar to MPI. It is intended as a tool for learning the MUF language, with a view toward graduating at a later date to M2. M1 access is not normally given to someone who is not expected to eventually have M2 access.

M2 -- A player who requests M2 access should present a MUF wizard with some program he has coded demonstrating a basic understanding of how MUF works. This is the standard level of user programming.

M3 -- This is an advanced level of programming which implies a higher than usual degree of trust and responsibility upon the programmer. Most programs should not require M3 access. MUF wizards may give M3 access to users who have demonstrated both technical ability and some specific need for M3. It is also the highest level of access that a user may have without being required to take on some duties as a staffer.

Users may not use MUF programs to spy on other players, to randomly examine or alter objects belonging to other players, to sabotage the MUCK's operations, or to "hack" the game programs to gain unfair advantage. If the coder is not sure whether a certain program is okay, he should ask a wizard before using it. Wizards may disallow the use of some programs or require that they be modified, and they may remove MUF access from a player if it has been abused.

MPI programming is allowed to all players by default. The same rules of abuse that apply to MUF programming also apply to MPI. If a player has abused MPI programming, the wizards may remove his MEEPER flag or impose other penalties.

Guidelines for Wizards

Wizards are expected to be friendly and helpful as far as possible, and to do what is best for the players.

Wizards are expected to be unfailingly polite, even though they may feel frustrated at times. Using vulgar language in public or in the course of performing wizard duties is not allowed. If a wizard feels that he cannot maintain a polite demeanor, it is highly recommended that he pass the issue at hand to another wizard, or log off for a time in order to regain his composure.

Wizards may not reveal a player's private information to other players without permission, unless required by law or to maintain the MUCK's operations. Wizards my not use their position or powers to coerce players into doing anything beyond what the rules require.

Wizards may not threaten players with punitive actions that the rules do not allow them to administer. Wizards may not carry out severe punitive actions that are permanent or hard to reverse (i.e. @toad or @purge). These actions are reserved for headwizards. Temporary punishments (i.e. @jail or @newpassword) should be applied with restraint -- after consulting with another wizard or a headwizard, unless the player appears to pose an imminent danger to the MUCK.

Players who feel wizards have treated them unfairly or have overstepped their authority may appeal to a headwizard.

Ownership of Intellectual Properties

The headwizards share ownership of the collective database, which is a compilation of works by various players. The players will, in most events, retain ownership and control of their individual creations. Players may voluntarily consign some or all of their creations to the MUCK, and they may be asked to so consign certain creations which are considered important to the MUCK's operation. (Please see Removal of a Character for more information about the disposition of a player's possessions.)

If the staffers find that a player has improperly placed any copyrighted material on the MUCK, they may ask him to remove the offending items. If the staff are unable to contact the player in a timely way, they may remove the items directly. Copyright owners are encouraged to contact the management if they feel something of this nature needs attention.

Harassment and Disputes Between Players

Harassment means repeated and unwelcome contact. If another player is bothering you and continues even after you have clearly told them to stop, that is harassment. To be more specific, harassment can include:

  • the persistent menacing of other players by words or actions
  • willful contact with a players who have explicitly warned you not to contact them
  • personal, out-of-character threats. - spamming or screenbombing

Making false charges of harassment is also an offense. Before you complain about harassment, please be sure what's happened fits the definition given above. Someone arguing with you, insulting you, or even publicly expressing negative opinions about you does not automatically count as harassment. Wizards have some flexibility in deciding what is harassment on a case-by-case basis, using their own judgment.

For the player who is being bothered, some procedures are available. First, you may use the page #ignore command to prevent the other party from paging you. If that is not enough, you may use the @gag command. This will prevent you from seeing any text which originates from the other player. When doing this, you should tell the other player very clearly that you do not want to be bothered anymore, and you may also want to tell a wizard.

If you have gagged a player and he continues to bother you, either by using alternate characters, or by asking his friends to bother you, or by any other means on Furscape, then you may ask a wizard to intervene and take whatever action is necessary to make him stop. Please note that wizards can't help you with anything the other party does outside of Furscape. ICQ, e-mail, other MUCKs, telephone calls and so forth are beyond our control.

If you have been gagged and feel you still have something important to say to the person gagging you, particularly if you feel that there is a dispute you would like to try and resolve, then you may ask a wizard to pass on brief messages or attempt to mediate the dispute. Players and wizards are encouraged to favor mediation and resolving disputes rather than letting them simmer. (NOTE that wizards should also help mediate disputes even when no issue of harassment has been raised, if the parties agree.) However, wizards are never required to do this if they feel it will harm the situation rather than help. Wizards should make @wizlog notes of these requests and their results.

Players should know that the @gag command does not work for gagging wizards. If you feel you are being harassed by a wizard, you should explain the situation to a headwizard. Headwizards are expected to take these complaints seriously, and to investigate them and try to resolve them quickly.

A wizard who feels he is being harassed by a player may not take punitive action against the player. It must be done by another wizard after investigating the situation (i.e. not merely on the harassed wizard's say-so).

Slander

Slander means publicly spreading hurtful lies about someone, thus unfairly damaging their reputation. In order to qualify as slander, statements must meet all of these criteria:

  • They must be framed as facts, not opinions.
  • They must be untrue.
  • They must be made to persons who might plausibly accept them as true.
  • They must be significantly harmful to the slandered party's reputation.

These are strict criteria, as they must be in order to avoid infringing on freedom of speech. Please do not bother the wizards with complaints that someone has slandered you unless you are reasonably sure it qualifies under the above definition! Verified instances of slander are considered a serious offense.

Violations of Privacy

Due to the nature of the MUCK environment, it's really impossible for the staff to guarantee the privacy of anything that goes through it. (And players are also warned that we may keep command logs for security purposes.) DO NOT POST SENSITIVE OR SECRET DATA TO THIS SYSTEM.

Nonetheless, players are expected to respect the privacy conventions of the MUCK. In particular, using special programs or other tricks to secretly listen in upon conversations or read messages which they otherwise would not be privy to is an offense. Yes, this rule also applies to wizards, except perhaps under special circumstances which would have to be discussed beforehand with a head wizard. In some cases it may be acceptable for builders to monitor rooms they have built, but this should in all cases be cleared with a wizard first, and some explanation given of why it is considered necessary.

Listening objects such as zombies or spaceships should be readily identifiable by anyone who sees them, unless some special exemption has been granted.

Fraud

Fraud means any use of the MUCK to commit financial crimes, including (but not limited to) exchanging stolen credit card numbers. Other examples of fraud might include getting money, equipment or services by means of lies or manipulation. Because fraud may even open the MUCK to legal action, it will be deal with severely.

Building

Furscape allows players to create their own areas. However, administrators may impose quotas or otherwise limit building in the future pending scarcity of system resources. Administrators may also remove the builder flag from specific players as a punitive or security measure.

There are special restrictions on adult-themed areas. To wit:

  • Adult areas are private areas with age-restricted access.
  • Players are warned before entering adult areas and are given the option of whether or not to proceed.
  • Adult areas do not become the main attraction of the muck.
  • Adult areas may be required to link only certain other areas.

In addition, building wizards have a general authority to see that areas are linked together in a way that makes sense, and to prevent ramshackle construction from appearing in publicly accessible areas.

Roleplaying and Maintaining Theme

Roleplaying is not required on Furscape, but is welcome. Roleplayers should respect judgments of the RPstaffers, who act as referees in matters of theme, game balance, and fair play. Roleplayers should remember that this is a voluntary activity at all times: nobody can force you to RP with them, and you cannot force anyone to RP with you. A player who feels that in-character game events have gone in an unacceptable direction may opt out of the gameplay. However, players should consider that leading other players into roleplay and then abandoning them can cause hard feelings. Players should respect the rules of different areas in Furscape. These can be read using the realm command. Areas of the MUCK may have different rules, including rules for in-character or out-of-character behavior, rules on allowed character types or abilities, thematic rules and guidelines, and limits on vulgar language, violence, or explicit descriptions or behavior. The head of RPstaff has the authority to determine what is in theme, as well as how far and by what means theme should be enforced. Theme rules are described in the Furscape Character Guide. Further rules related to theme and roleplaying may be posted by the head of RPstaff on the MUCK in some appropriate place.

1. We have separate OOC and IC areas. Please, if you do not feel like roleplaying, do not loiter in the ic areas affecting others that are trying to RP.

2. If you ever need or want your character killed off, please do not have that character murdered in a highly populated area of the muck, it is rather foolish, since there would be lots of witnesses.

3. If you are going to play a criminal or thief, be prepared to pay the time. There are laws on our planets, if you break them, the IC law enforcement of those planets have every right to come after you.

4. Twinks and powergamers are not tolerated. If you want a character that has powers that are not normal, or might be considered god-like, you have to apply to the RPstaff for approval of those powers.

5. If at any time, the RP is not going the way you think it should, example someone is abusing one of the systems on furscape or powergaming, then by all means drop out of that RP and inform an RPstaffer.

6. If there is ever any reason that you might feel a RPstaffer is abusing his or her powers, please p #mail West directly with a log of what happened. The RPstaffs job is to drop RP hooks and mediate between players if they request it, and to try and keep things themely. I will not tolerate my staff abusing their powers, so if it happens, let me know.

 

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